Latest update March 28th, 2025 6:05 AM
Latest News
- “It will be a very bad day for Venezuelan if they attack Guyana or ExxonMobil”—Rubio declares
- Guyana gets info on U.S. tax evasion allegations against Mohameds, Mae Thomas
- US$35 injected into banking system to address foreign currency shortage—VP Jagdeo
- Citizens to stage protest today against lack of access to information in Guyana
- Guyana vows to stand with U.S.
Taxi driver’s death pushes road fatality figure to 24
Cecil Callender called Cecil Gilkes
The country’s road fatality figure jumped to 24, six more than the same period last year, following the death of 63-year-old taxi driver Cecil Callender also known as Cecil Gilkes.
Callender was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital where he was taken after a two-vehicle smash-up on the Liliendaal Railway Embankment on Wednesday night.
According to reports, Callender, who is popularly known as Jim, of 22 Evan Phillips Park, Agricola, East Bank Demerara, was driving motor car, HB 2158, when it was struck
The two vehicles involved in the accident.
from behind by another car, HB 7798 ,which was reportedly being driven by Rabindra Sookram of Thomas Street, Georgetown.
Both cars were proceeding in the same direction when the accident occurred around 23:35 hours.
Kaieteur News understands that as a result of the impact, both drivers lost control of their vehicle.
Callender was reportedly hurled from his car while Sookram’s vehicle ended up crashing into a post.
Both men were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where Callendar was pronounced dead on arrival, while Sookram was admitted and is in stable condition.
Callender’s family members are still in a state of disbelief over his death.
Quacey Gilkes, one of his two sons, told this newspaper that the family received a telephone call from one of Callender’s driving colleagues in the Airport Taxi Association around 23:40 hours.
“He said ‘Jim just get in an accident’ and we must come to the hospital.”
Gilkes said that when he arrived at the hospital, his father’s body was already being wheeled into the mortuary.
He said that his mother Desiree is trying to bear up with the tragic news, but it is he who is breaking down.
“I was still in disbelief, and it was only when I touched his body then I realised that he was at the point of no return,” Gilkes told Kaieteur News.
According to Gilkes, his father normally operated from the Ogle Airport.
He said that his father’s former colleague related that he was proceeding in the vicinity of the accident when he saw several persons running towards the scene. At the time he was unaware what was happening until he heard someone saying that there was an accident further up the road.
The driver turned back and became worried when he saw Callender’s car.
“He told us that my father was lying on the road and he shook him, calling his name several times but got no response,” Gilkes related.
He said that his father was eventually picked up by the police and taken to the hospital.
Apart from Gilkes, Callender leaves to mourn his wife and another son who recently migrated to the United States of America.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
The PPP has started the intimidation
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- In politics, as in life, what goes around comes around. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic... more
The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?
By Sir Ronald Sanders For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries... more
Weekend Cartoon
